fl eeae



W. B. F'RRAR. Turbine Waiter-Wheel..

110.224,161. i* Patemed Feb. 3, 112,80.v

WITNEssEsA: 1 y INVBNTOR:

ATTORNEYS.

UNI-TED STATES Greifen.,

W'ILLIAM as. minnen, or GREEN sonoUeH, `Nonrn zoAnonmA.

sPEcIFrcATIoN forming part of Letters Pate/neuve 224,161,6lateaFebruary-3, 1880.

` i Application filed November 8, 1879. 4

To all whom it may concern:

'Be itknownlthat LWILnIArM BIFARRAR,

ure, or comparatively lo'w head'of water.

In so far as my improved wheelresembles its predecessors it is a combination.ofltherinward` and down ward flows, its main feature'being the arrangement, within a casing and around .a vertical revolving axis,of'aseriesot` diverging blades orbnckets, which, are placed iat a downward inclin ation of fortyliive degrees, Ior

thereabont, and aremade of `gradually-increasing width from theupper to ther lower end, and also have a spiral curve, to'enable them to react on the-water inthedesiredmanner.

a conical top, in whichare ylfornied vhoodsor inlet-passages of peculiar coi1struction,and 'closed by gates which are vhinged near the apex Y of the case and operate vertically, as herein-` after described. 1

In the accompanying drawi-ngs,forming part of this specitcation, Figurelisaisi'de eleva-y tion of my improved water-wheel. Fig', 2 shows a vertical section ofthe Vwheel-case and a side view of the wheel proper. Fig. 3 shows cross-sections of the wheel proper on lines ww and y y, respectively, Fig; 2. Fig. 4 is 'a detail View of one of the Wheel-blades or buckets detached and enlarged.

The case of the wheel consists, essentially, of the cylindrical portion or body A and the top, which has the general outline, or, rather, inclination, of a cone, but is composedof aseries of hoods or water-inlet passages', B, Whose con struction willbe more particularly descri bed hereinafter.

The wheelproper-consists of a vertical axis or shaft, C, and a series of blades or buckets,

VD, which have the following characteristics of form and local relatiomto 'witf They are long, thin, and narrow metal plates attached The invention also includes a casing having `to theshaftCfanddivergingtherefrom downwardl andoutward at ati-angle of forty-tive de ,:greesnmoreor less, and are of gradually-increasing width, and also have a gentle spiral curvature. from their upper to their' lower ends, `and they are straight on each side edge. Thus the `body of thegwhelel is Sin the nature ot' a skeletoincone having divergingribsseparated byi'slots of uniform, or rnearlyuniform, width from topto bottom.

\ In respect to certain` other details, the construction, arrangement,and attachment of the -buckets iDiare as follows: Theyareconnected Y with an iron hub, a, in the-processiof casting, gand sad'hubis suitably keyed ory the shaft C, in the usual way. At their point of attache Vment tol-the hub a the buckets -are narrow, and :their diameter is nearly'lvertical, and from th ence they are gradually wide-'ned and curved spirally,gso that theirlower ends arenotvonly Vrelatively broad, but their diameter atthat pointis at an angle of about tive degrees to thel'plane of their diameter at the upper end. ySaid lower ends of lthe buckets D are rigidly lconnected bya circular band or rod, b, so that fthe body ot' the-wheel :has dUestrength, al-

though of exceedingly lightand comparatively slight construction. p i

` 4The shaft C issteppedfin a spider, E, and has itsfupper bearing in the top ofcase A, in fthe usual-way. The water enters yhoods B and lfrotatesthe wheel byactingV on the buckets -D as they successively pass beneath the openings in the hoods B. The conical construction ot'- the wheel enables the weight of the impinging water to be fully utilized for rotary propulsion, or at least more fully than in other turbines in which the cone principle is not utilized, since the buckets are of the greatest length practicable, and are exposed to the action of the' water throughout their length, yet

the narrownessof'the buckets enables the water to quickly discharge from or leave the i wheel, so that there is no dead water carried by the latter. In my wheel, therefore, I comducing the high, speed my Wheel is capable of IOO attaining. The delivery is, however, at and over the ends of the buckets, as well as their inner or lengthwise edges.

The hoods B are formed by dividing the top of the wheel-case radially, thus forming four sections, (there may be any other number,) and then elevating one edge of each quartersection and applying a triangular piece, c, to the lower edge of each section. The hoods B have thus a large triangular-shaped mouth, and their lower sides being at nearly a right angle to the top portion and inclined outward from the axis C, instead of being parallel, or approximately parallel, to it, so that the water is admitted in largest quantity at the lower side ot' the mouth and converged upon the lower side of the wheel, where the capacity ot the buckets and leverage of the wheel are greatest.

The mouths are closed or opened by gates F, which are of like triangular shape and pivoted at their upper ends to the wheel-case near the apex, so that their diameters are parallel to vertical planes, and when the gates are closed their lower edges are parallel to the inclination of buckets D, as shown in Fig. l.

When the gates F open, as shown in dotted lilies, Fig. l, the space formed thereby, and through which the water enters, is triangular in shape, and hence the greater volume of water will always enter at the lower side of the mouths. In other words, the form of the hoods and their mouths and the form and action ot' the gates have relation to the form and arrangement of the buckets, with a view to obtaining the greatest practicable propulsive eli'eet from the smallest volume of water.

The gates are connected with a sliding collar, d, on the shaft G by means of rods G. The collar is raised by a pivoted lever, so that the gates are opened simultaneously. rlhe said rods are made in two parts and connected by a tubular nut having a right and left screwthread, so that the rods may be easily adj usted in length to cause the gates to fit close on the case. A narrow flange, e, projects inward from the upper part of the cylindrical portion or body ofthe wheel and covers the stay-band b of the wheel proper, thus serving to prevent the water striking upon said band as it enters the passages B.

I do not claimbroadly, a wheel-case having an inclined top provided with hoods whose mouths are widest at the lower side and closed by pivoted gates.

What I claim is- 1. A turbine water-wheel whose body is formed of a series of blades or buckets arranged divergently and at a downward inclination around a rotating shaft, to which their upper ends are attached, substantially as speciied.

2. A turbine water-wheel having its body formed of buckets which are constructed of thin metal blades of gradually-increasing width from the upper to the lower end, and made straight on either edge, and arranged around the axis divergently but at a down ward inclination of forty-tive degrees, or thereabout, and also curved spirally lengthwise, all as shown and described, to operate as and for the purpose specied.

3. In a turbine water-wheel, the combination, with the wheel-blades and the stayband b, attached to their lower ends, of the casing having the angee, which projects inward over W. B. FARRAR.

Witnesses:

AMos W. HART, C. R. WRIGHT. 

